God of War III Remastered is out now on PS4, so you can relive the most epic opening scene in videogame history yet again. And speaking of games coming out, we announced our annual PlayStation Store PLAY promotion, featuring Journey (out Tuesday), N++, Galak-Z and Everybody’s Gone to the Rapture. Save some dough by pre-ordering or by buying more than one of the games in the promotion.

]]>http://blog.us.playstation.com/2015/07/18/this-week-in-playstation-15/feed/12http://blog.us.playstation.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/Uncharted-TNDC.jpg3.85SCEA Social Media Manager121Hands-on with Call of Duty: Black Ops III Multiplayerhttp://blog.us.playstation.com/2015/07/10/hands-on-with-call-of-duty-black-ops-iii-multiplayer/
http://blog.us.playstation.com/2015/07/10/hands-on-with-call-of-duty-black-ops-iii-multiplayer/#commentsFri, 10 Jul 2015 17:00:03 +0000http://blog.us.playstation.com/?p=158688hyper-cool looking new Zombies mode).
Black Ops III feels both familiar and fresh, featuring Treyarch's tried-and-true genre-defining shooting mechanics but amplified by new additions — like a "guns up" mentality in the design process that minimizes downtime, even while sprinting or when underwater. Oh yeah, you can swim (and shoot while underwater) now too!
]]>Hello from San Diego! I’m at Comic-Con 2015, and I just got back from playing a few rounds of Call of Duty Black Ops III multiplayer (after seeing the debut of its hyper-cool looking new Zombies mode).

Black Ops III feels both familiar and fresh, featuring Treyarch’s tried-and-true genre-defining shooting mechanics but amplified by new additions — like a “guns up” mentality in the design process that minimizes downtime, even while sprinting or when underwater. Oh yeah, you can swim (and shoot while underwater) now too!

After some time with it, my favorite change in Black Ops III is the inclusion of Specialists, a roster of unique individuals with their own backstories and abilities. Before the start of each match, players select a Specialist, who they then play as for the duration of the match.

I had access to multiple Specialists, designated not only by their callsigns — Ruin, Seraph, Outrider, Reaper, Prophet and Nomad — but by their distinctive appearances and abilities. My favorite? Seraph, whose Annihilator revolver made short work of anyone unfortunate enough to stand in my crosshairs.

Aside from the abilities unique to each Specialist, the Pick Ten system returns and affords players even more options to customize their play style — after they make the tough decision of which weapons, attachments and perks to use.

Movement is a heavy focus in Black Ops III. Gone is your feeble mortal stamina limit, replaced by the ability to sprint endlessly. Combined with thrusters, which are used to augment jumps and slides (thruster-sliding is so much fun you guys), player mobility is an incredibly important part of the experience. Careful though — with increased mobility comes increased responsibility. Let’s just say that mistakes were made.

That said, classic Call of Duty “boots on the ground” gameplay is still equally viable as a play style. I had fun wall-running and thruster-sliding, but when it comes time to do some good old-fashioned face shootin’ there’s nothing like watching your radar and creeping around a corner with your weapon drawn.

Call of Duty Black Ops III launches on PS4 November 6th, but a pre-order will grant you access to the beta, which debuts on PS4 August 19th.

Hello! Let’s take a look at last month’s top-selling games on PlayStation Store.

The Elder Scrolls Online: Tamriel Unlimited debuted at number 1 on PS4, followed by Batman: Arkham Knight and The Witcher 3, while Minecraft continues its reign atop the PS3 chart. Final Fantasy VII saw a sudden surge in downloads… I wonder why.

Read on for the full list, and let us know how you think July’s charts are going to shake out!

Whew, we made it! Another E3 in the books, and what a show it was. Our press conference started us off with a bang (and some of you were lucky enough to watch it on the big screen): The Last Guardian re-emerged on PS4 with a 2016 launch date, Shenmue III was officially announced (and nearly instantly funded on Kickstarter), and the long-awaited Final Fantasy VII Remake was finally revealed. And let’s not forget Guerrilla’s beautiful Horizon Zero Dawn, a slate of new games for Project Morpheus, a face-melting new demo for Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End, a new Media Player app on PS4, Destiny: The Taken King’s grand debut, and Call of Duty’s new home on PlayStation with Black Ops III.

Of course, there’s been far more news than that… You know what? Let’s just list every PlayStation.Blog post from the past week!

I’d be remiss if I didn’t call your attention to our massive, all-week E3 LiveCast. Sid, Ryan, Anthony, Meredith and I hosted tons of developers on our annual live show, where we talked to them about what they’re working on, what we can expect from them, and in some cases even playing their games live on stage! Catch up on all our live segments with these handy playlists:

There are dozens of new trailers now live on our YouTube channel, so if you’re looking for a more visual way to catch up on everything out of E3 that’s a good place to start. It’s little surprise that the most-viewed video of the week was the official reveal trailer for The Last Guardian on PS4 — let’s re-live that one now:

The Last Guardian – E3 2015 Trailer | PS4

A few more personal highlights:

So, that’s E3 2015. It was a wild ride, but we made it — together. What did you think?

Uncharted: The Nathan Drake Collection is coming to PS4, we got new details on Mighty No. 9’s retail release, fan-favorite Rocket League is launching on July 7th, Planetside 2 hits PS4 on June 23rd, and more in this week’s recap.

I finally truly finished Bloodborne, so now I’m going for the Platinum in between stretches of FFXIV ( I’ve got all crafting jobs to 50 except Blacksmith!). I’ve been hearing good things about Episode 3 of Life is Strange… maybe I’ll use this weekend to catch up on that. What are you playing?

The Witcher 3! The universally loved open world adventure from CD Projekt RED is garnering massive praise from players and critics everywhere, earning it the prestigious number one spot on our PlayStation Store PS4 top sellers chart.

Enough folks nabbed Mass Effect Trilogy when it was on sale (can’t argue with that $4.80 price tag) to send it rocketing to the top of the PS3 chart, and we saw the same thing happen wih Freedom Wars on PS Vita.

Destiny’s House of Wolves handily topped the PS4 / PS3 add-on charts, and the surprise release of PS Classic The Misadventures of Tron Bonne debuted at #1 on its respective chart, as well.

Destiny’s House of Wolves expansion is out in the wild, and folks seem to like it! I’ve been having a blast in the Prison of Elders, and the Trials of Osiris have been some of the most fun I’ve had in a game since first cracking open the Vault of Glass. Whether you’re a new Destiny player or a seasoned vet who’s looking to get back into the game, House of Wolves is a worthy update.

If you want to watch our E3 Press Conference in a movie theater, you’re in luck! The E3 Experience is indeed a thing again this year — tickets go on sale Wednesday.